Chapter 210: The hunt has begun.
Lucas went still beside Trevor, the words cutting through the bright hum of the hall like a blade through silk.
Trevor’s expression didn’t change, but his grip on Lucas’s arm tightened almost imperceptibly. "Poison?"
Dax’s smile faded into something colder, his violet eyes gleaming like sharpened glass.
"A servant intercepted it," he said, tilting his head ever so slightly toward the far edge of the hall where the shadows seemed deeper than they should have been. "A glass intended for me. Or, perhaps, for your husband, depending on how carefully the order was given."
Lucas’s breath caught, but he didn’t let it show beyond the faintest narrowing of his eyes. "And the one who offered it?"
Dax’s gaze drifted briefly to the sealed case now in the hands of one of his guards, then back to them. "Taken. He’s screaming his innocence somewhere quieter." His voice was calm, almost gentle, but there was a thread of dark amusement beneath it, a promise that the man would speak before the night was over.
Trevor’s mouth curved faintly again, but there was nothing soft in his eyes now. "I’d offer my apologies for the lack of hospitality," he said smoothly, "but somehow I don’t think you mind a little excitement."
Dax let out a low laugh, quiet and rich, though his gaze never left Trevor’s. "Not at all," he murmured. "But tell me, will you and your husband enjoy the rest of your evening knowing that somewhere in this hall, someone thought you both better off dead?"
Lucas’s green eyes met Trevor’s storm-dark ones briefly, and in that heartbeat of silence between them, the celebration around them felt just a little too loud, a little too bright.
Trevor’s smile deepened, slow and dangerous. "Oh," he said, voice smooth as glass, "I think we’ll manage."
But as he guided Lucas subtly back toward the crowd, his grip was still steady and firm, and Lucas could feel the quiet promise in the press of Trevor’s hand: whoever tried, they would regret it.
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